Each year, during the first week of November, manufacturers of automotive parts and accessories gather in Las Vegas to debut their new products and connect with buyers and media. As the largest annual gathering of small businesses, the SEMA Show provides these manufacturers with a venue for which to do business. They spend months in advance preparing their booths and securing meetings, and they work nonstop during the Show to connect with buyers who are seeking the hottest, newest products to fill their store shelves.

It will be no surprise to those who attended: The 2014 SEMA Show bounced off the rev limiter like a street machine on nitrous, posting historic levels of attendance, exhibitor numbers and total footprint. Growth is good, but the key measure of success will always be to create a comprehensive marketplace where quality exhibitors can do business with quality buyers. In that regard, it seems that the 2014 Show served well as a springboard for success for most in the industry in the coming year.

As usual, we’ll be doing research to quantify what worked and what is changing as well as soliciting new ideas and ways to improve. To those of you who returned our post-Show survey, we extend our sincerest thanks in advance for your thoughts and comments.

The world’s most unique and celebrated customized vehicles from the 2014 SEMA Show will gather and be accessible to the public on Friday, November 7, 4:00–10:00 p.m., as the SEMA Cruise finds its way to a new event taking place immediately after the SEMA Show at the heart of the Las Vegas Strip.

The 2013 SEMA Show was by all accounts a record breaker. More people attended, there were more international visitors and more booth space was taken than ever before in SEMA’s history. I’m happy to report that the 2014 Show is on track to exceed all of those numbers. This year has been a great year for business, and we are all hoping for an even better 2015—and the 2014 SEMA Show is the right place to kick it all off.

This year’s Show promises to have more fabulous new project cars, custom builds and incredible vehicle debuts than ever before. But what really excites me is the number of first-time exhibitors we will see this year, and the even bigger news will be all of the creative and innovative new products that will be on display at the Show.

Get the Most From Your 2014 Experience

Larger than ever for 2014, this year’s SEMA Show promises to connect buyers with more than 2,300 exhibitors while offering an exciting look at more than a million square feet of industry innovation both inside and outside the Las Vegas Convention Center (LVCC). With thousands of products, display vehicles, booths and business-enhancing activities to choose from, how do buyers begin to navigate this massive world of opportunity? The key, said SEMA Show Director Tom Gattuso, is to strategize beforehand and hit the ground running.

For much of 2014, SEMA members have generally reported having a good year and, for some, a great year. I’ve observed that the SEMA Show is a barometer of industry strength, reflected by participation and investment in the Show. This year’s pre-Show registration indicates that the SEMA Show will be an outstanding springboard for growth opportunities in 2015.

This marks the fifth straight year that the Show has had increased participation levels since the lows of the recession in 2009. This makes for a larger Show, but more important than size is how many innovative manufacturers are taking the opportunity...